


Classified

by gryffindormischief



Series: Fresh Pickled Toad [5]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Secret Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-23
Updated: 2016-06-23
Packaged: 2018-07-16 18:35:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,115
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7279450
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gryffindormischief/pseuds/gryffindormischief
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Harry and Ginny discover how hard it is to keep a secret in the Weasley family.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Classified

**Author's Note:**

> thank you so much to everyone who has read and reviewed! So glad to see so many Harry/Ginny fans :)

They hadn’t set out to keep it a secret. After they’d gotten their acts together, Harry and Ginny had continued their practice of spending their days together that first summer without Voldemort. The only real change was that snogging was added to their daily activities of swimming and flying and picnics, sometimes more than one at a time. At some point, they realized that no one seemed aware of their rekindled relationship, and with the exception of Ron and Hermione, it wasn’t clear if the other Weasleys even knew there was something _to_ rekindle. This state of affairs, combined with their shared trait of mischievousness meant that it became a sort of game – how long could they keep the Weasleys in the dark. 

It was two weeks into the challenge, and already they’d had a few close calls, just yesterday, they’d been basking in the late afternoon sun, letting the rays warm their pale skin. Harry had turned his head toward Ginny, who had a soft smile on her face as she chewed a blade of grass, squinting up at the clouds, “That one looks like Trelawney.” 

Harry grinned, rolling on his side, his face hovering above Ginny’s and blocking the Trelawney cloud, “Oi. I was _doing_ something.”

Quirking an ebony brow, Harry smirked and pulled the blade of grass from her mouth, “Maybe we could do something _together_?”

Ginny threaded her fingers through his hair and pulled him down for a smoldering kiss, lips traveling across his cheek, “Sounds like a plan.”

Losing track of time fairly quickly, a mussed Ginny and a shirtless Harry were jarred back to reality by the sound of one Molly Weasley warbling the lyrics to a Celestina Warbeck hit as she wandered toward the clothesline just a few meters away.

“Bloody hell, Gin where’s my shirt?” Harry whispered, eyes wide.

“She’s not going to know just because of your shirt. It’s hot…just tell her you got hot,” Ginny offered knowingly. 

Harry narrowed his eyes, “I think seeing the state of your hair and our swollen lips-”

Both blushed, grinning widely, “Well alright then Mr. Know-it-all, what’s the plan?”

Harry peeked up over the tall waving grasses as Molly was neared the couple, and assessed the situation rapidly, “Leg it.”

Grasping slightly sweaty hands, Harry and Ginny fled into the small copse of trees slightly north of the Burrow, but still secure within the confines of the wards.  

After their close call the previous day, Harry and Ginny decided to _try_ and be more low-key, but apparently pulling the wool over Molly Weasley’s eyes was more difficult than they’d imagined, as Harry discovered one morning over breakfast. It was still early, meaning most of the family was still fast asleep, with the exception of Mr. Weasley, who’d left for the ministry in a flash of green flames, and Molly and Harry. As the young wizard sipped his milky breakfast tea, perusing the blessedly Voldemort-free Daily Prophet, Mrs. Weasley turned away from the stove, pot full of porridge in hand, “Would you like some dear?”

Harry nodded, “Yes, thank you. I’m starved.”

Molly smiled, filling a bowl before floating it towards the table gracefully. Harry dropped the newspaper, tucking into his meal with vigor, not noticing his companions unwavering stare until she broke the silence, “ Are you and Ginny dating?”

Eyes darting around as if searching for an answer, Harry lifted his heavily laden spoon to his mouth, but missing the mark entirely, which resulted in a cheek full of hot cereal.

Bustling over from the stove, damp cloth in hand, Molly gently scrubbed his face, “Are you alright Harry?”

“Er- yes?”

Still gripping his chin, Mrs. Weasley tilted his face until their eyes met, “Which question was that an answer to?”

Cheeks flushing Harry whispered, “Both.”

With a shriek of joy, Mrs. Weasley enveloped Harry in an exuberant embrace, giving him a smacking kiss on the cheek.

That moment was the beginning of the end.

The next reveal was not wholly unexpected, and if they were honest, both Harry and Ginny were fairly perplexed that it took Ron and Hermione so long to discover their renewed relationship. Or they would have been if they hadn’t witnessed the unmitigated fervor with which the other couple made up for lost time.

After convincing Molly to join in on their shenanigans, Harry and Ginny embarked on their quest with renewed fervor, making sure that all public displays of affection were not, in fact, public. This was how the duo found themselves alone in the cool pond, racing and occasionally partaking in less competitive activities. Waterlogged with pruney fingers, they climbed up onto the grassy bank and sprawled out in the shade, side by side on the blanket Ginny had grabbed on their way out. Just as their lips were about to meet, the sound of snapping twigs and giggles broke out dangerously close by.

Ginny propped herself up on her elbows, eyes squinted as she identified the interlopers, before she mouthed, ‘ _Ron and Hermione,’_ receiving a nod from Harry in response. 

As Ginny was righting her bikini top, Harry sat up and carded his fingers through her hair, then his own, attempting to disguise their mussed appearances.

Just as Ginny noticed a blooming love bite on Harry’s neck, Ron and Hermione emerged into the clearing, Ron huffing in annoyance once he noticed they weren’t alone, “You two, bugger off. We want alone time. Can’t you guys go somewhere else to goof off?”

Hermione quickly scanned her two friends, a small smirk on her face, before turning to Ron, “Ron, I think it’s probably better described as _fooling around_.” 

Harry’s eyes widened at his best friend, “Bloody hell, Hermione, are you _trying_ to make him kill me?”

Flopping back onto the damp blanket Ginny grumbled, “C’mon Harry you know I could take him no problem.” 

“True,” Harry conceded, glancing back at Ginny’s reclining form.

Ron let out an indignant, “Oi!”

Turning toward her beau, Hermione placed a hand on Ron’s chest, “ _Anyway_ , I think the point is _they_ would like privacy just as much as we would.”

Eyeing Harry and Ginny warily over Hermione’s shoulder Ron muttered, “Hopefully less than we would.”

Not removing her eyes from admiring Harry’s glistening skin Ginny drawled, “Y’know Ron, sometimes I think you are a little too obsessed with my love life.” 

Ears reddening Ron growled, “Well you’re the one who-”

“Who _what_ Ron?” Ginny asked in a sweet tone betrayed by her flashing eyes.

Just as the older Weasley opened his mouth to reply, Harry cut in, “Ron stuff it and find somewhere else to snog Hermione.”

It was Hermione’s turn to blush as she yanked Ron away as he bellowed on about _ex_ -best mates and sisters who _steal_ said ex-best mates. 

The next exposure came in a trio. They hadn’t been outed by Hermione and Ron yet, the former because she felt no need to share, and the latter because he preferred to live in denial as long as possible. Ginny called him a name and Ron responded by maturely flicking her nose. When he stumbled into bed that night, it was to find an entire jar of newt eyes staring up at him from between the sheets. Despite this, their secret was steadily becoming less of a secret, and instead a ticking time bomb for a full on reveal, particularly since the less predictable members of the family had yet to be enlightened. Harry had mentioned this concern to Ginny, but she’d scoffed, “George, Dad, and Bill love you already, Charlie just wants me to be happy, and Percy can stuff it if he doesn’t like it.”

Harry snickered, placated, if not completely relaxed about the situation. Interestingly, he soon discovered he needn’t have worried about their reactions. Since the war ended, both Charlie and Percy changed their respective lives to ensure they made more time for family, which is what lead to Harry and various male Weasleys holing up one Saturday night in the back room of Weasleys’ Wizarding Wheezes with a few bottles of Ogden’s and some pretzels. George was lounged across the threadbare couch, while the others found seats on overturned crates or the dusty floor. When Percy opened his mouth to complain, George had shot him a dirty look and threatened to confiscate his alcohol. Percy promptly clamped his mouth closed and snuggled closer to his firewhisky. As a comfortable, if slightly tipsy, silence fell, Charlie cleared his throat, “Y’know, I reckon Ginny needs some fun in her life.”

Ron quirked a brow but said nothing, stuffing his face with more pretzels, while George stroked his chin thoughtfully, “I do believe you’re right dear brother of mine, perhaps a date?”

Harry raised his brows, holding his alcohol loosened tongue from ranting about how he’d throttle anyone who got ideas about setting Ginny up with some as yet unnamed bloke who he pictured as handsome and muscled, with perfect eyesight and the ability to offer a life free of Rita Skeeter and her cronies. While he silently fumed, Percy gathered enough courage to speak for the first time since George’s most likely very real threat, “Who could we ask?”

Eyes rolling, Ron stood to refill the snack bowl as Charlie spoke, “How about our young Harry here? He’s certainly got enough to treat her to a nice evening out.”

Percy nodded sagely and George started planning their evening, which apparently included a five course meal, elephant rides, and scuba diving – “What? She deserves a fun time!”

Fed up with the pointless discussion, Ron cut in, looking at Harry meaningfully, “Oi. First, Ginny would never go on a set-up, and second, she’s already _got_ a boyfriend.”

“Well bloody hell Ron, thanks for keeping us in the loop!” Charlie exclaimed, sloshing some of his drink down his front. He stared at the spreading stain for a moment, before shrugging and turning to Harry, who had been enjoying remaining on the sidelines for this conversation, “Did _you_ know about this?”

Harry considered his options for a moment, before nodding and pressing the bottle to his lips, the cool liquid running down his throat.

Percy harrumphed, “Well _who is he?_ ”

Ron’s brows shot up, as if challenging Harry, as the dark haired wizard spoke clearly and confidently, “Me. So I’d appreciate if the ‘fix Ginny up’ plans stopped.” 

Silence descended once again, until Percy let out an almighty belch that echoed through the musty room, shaking his companions from their thoughts. Charlie slapped his hands on his thighs and stood, “Well alright then.” 

Harry narrowed his emerald eyes in disbelief, “Really? No catch?”

George rolled onto his side, “Nah, I figure the whole sacrificing yourself for the good of mankind earned you a free pass for the moment. It won’t last forever mind you. ‘Sides, I pity the bloke that crosses ol’ Gin-Gin.”

Percy let out a breath of a laugh and grabbed a pillow from underneath George’s leg, despite the prankster’s protests, and flopped on the floor. 

With a shrug, Ron offered Harry a hand up, “Head back then?" 

It was downhill from there, as Charlie surprisingly, or unsurprisingly depending on who you asked, turned out to be somewhat of a gossip, which meant Bill joined the ‘I know Harry and Ginny are a couple’ club a few days later. At the next Weasley Sunday dinner, Bill shook Harry’s hand firmly, “Just no more breaking in to Gringotts – I’d hate to have to turn you over to the goblins.” The oldest Weasley brother let out a loud guffaw, scooping up a bowl of mashed potatoes and striding out into the garden, screen door slapping shut behind him. Harry turned to Ginny and shrugged his shoulders, before placing a chaste kiss on her cheek.

After that, there was only one family member left to tell, but instead of making a production of clueing Mr. Weasley in, the couple just stopped hiding. They snuggled close on the couch, held hands as they took walks through the orchard, and went on day trips throughout the countryside together. One evening, when the family was spread across the den, dozing to the sounds of jazzy wizarding hits, Arthur folded down the top of his muggle newspaper – ‘The pictures don’t move!’ – and peered at his daughter, wrapped in the steady embrace of Harry’s arms, and made eye contact with his youngest, and his only daughter. She offered him a small but true smile, and he nodded shortly in return, eyes sparkling with a mix of nostalgia and happiness. With a wink, the patriarch mouthed ‘love you’ and refocused on his paper, as Ginny burrowed further into Harry’s warmth.


End file.
